Coupons

Coupons allow you to create promotional codes that customers can apply at checkout for discounts. Create percentage discounts, fixed amount discounts, or free shipping offers with flexible restrictions.

Requirements

• PHP 8.3.0+
• Joomla 6.x
• J2Commerce 6.x

Locating Coupons

Coupons are managed from the J2Commerce Dashboard.

There are two ways you can access the coupons.

Option A: Go to the J2Commerce icon at the top right corner -> Sales -> Coupons

Option B: Go to Components on the left sidebar -> J2Commerce -> Dashboard -> Sales -> Coupons

Coupons List View

The coupons list displays all configured discount codes:

Status: Published (green) or Unpublished (grey)

Coupon Name: Internal name for the coupon

Coupon Code: Coupon code customers enter at checkout

Value: Discount amount or percentage

Value Type: Discount type (Fixed Cart, Percentage, etc.)

Expiration: Displays if the coupon is active or expired.

Valid From: Start date of validity period

Valid To: End date of validity period

ID: Internal coupon ID

Filter Options

Search: Search by coupon name or code

Status: Filter by published/unpublished

Type: Filter by discount type (percentage/fixed)

Free Shipping: Filter by free shipping status

Creating a Coupon

1. Click New in the toolbar.
2. Configure the coupon settings (see fields below).

Coupon Fields

Basic Settings Tab

Field	Description	Example
Coupon Name	Internal name for identification	Summer Sale 20%
Coupon Code	Code customers enter at checkout	SUMMER20
Coupon Type	Type of discount	Fixed Cart, Percentage, etc.
Value	Discount amount or percentage	20 (for 20% or [dollar]20)
Free Shipping	Enable free shipping with coupon	Yes/No
Valid From	Start date for coupon validity	2026-06-01
Valid To	End date for coupon validity	2026-06-30

Coupon Types

Type	Description	Value Meaning
Fixed Cart	Fixed amount off entire cart	[dollar]20 off total
Fixed Product	Fixed amount off each product	[dollar]5 per item
Percentage Cart	Percentage off entire cart	20% off total
Percentage Product	Percentage off each product	10% per item

Advanced Settings tab

Product Categories: Restrict to selected categories

Products: Restrict to selected products

Brand/Manufacturer: Restrict to selected brands

Logged-in Users Only: Restrict to registered customers

Customer Groups: Restrict to user groups

Users: Restrict to specific users

Minimum Spending: Minimum order subtotal required

Usage Limit Tab

Uses Per Coupon: Maximum total uses (0 = unlimited)

Uses Per Customer: Max uses per customer (0 = unlimited)

Maximum Discount Value: Max discount for percentage coupons

How Coupons Work

Discount Calculation

1. Fixed Cart: Subtract the value from the order subtotal

   • Example: [dollar]20 off a [dollar]100 order = [dollar]80 total

2. Percentage Cart: Apply percentage to subtotal

   • Example: 20% off [dollar]100 = [dollar]20 discount = [dollar]80 total

3. Fixed Product: Subtract value from each matching product

   • Example: [dollar]5 off each item × 3 items = [dollar]15 total discount

4. Percentage Product: Apply percentage to each matching product

   • Example: 10% off [dollar]50 item × 2 items = [dollar]10 total discount

Validation Process

When a customer applies a coupon, J2Commerce validates:

1. A coupon exists and is published
2. Date validity — Current date is within the Valid From/To range
3. Usage limits — Total uses haven't exceeded the limit
4. Customer usage — Customer hasn't exceeded their personal limit
5. Login requirement — Customer is logged in (if required)
6. Minimum spending — Order subtotal meets minimum
7. Product/category restrictions — Order contains qualifying items
8. User/group restrictions — Customer is in the allowed group

Free Shipping Coupons

When Free Shipping is enabled:

1. The shipping cost is set to zero
2. Requires the Free Shipping plugin to be enabled
3. Configure the Free Shipping plugin to require a valid coupon

Tips

• Use descriptive names — "Summer Sale 20%" is easier to identify than "Coupon 1"
• Set expiration dates — Prevent old coupons from being used unexpectedly
• Test your coupons — Create a test order to verify discount calculations
• Use usage limits — Prevent unlimited use of high-value discounts
• Restrict by category — Target promotions to specific product lines
• Monitor coupon usage — Check order history for coupon usage patterns

Troubleshooting

Coupon Not Working at Checkout

Cause: One or more validation rules are failing.

Solution:

1. Check if the coupon is Published.
2. Verify the current date is within Valid From and Valid To.
3. Ensure Uses Per Coupon hasn't been reached.
4. Check if Logged-in Users Only is enabled — the customer must be logged in.
5. Verify the order subtotal meets the minimum spending.
6. Check product restrictions — order must contain qualifying products.

Percentage Discount Exceeds Expected Amount

Cause: Maximum discount value not set.

Solution:

1. Edit the coupon.
2. Set the Maximum Discount Value to cap the discount.
3. Example: 20% off with max [dollar]50 means even a [dollar]500 order only gets [dollar]50 off.

Free Shipping Not Applying

Cause: Free Shipping plugin not configured correctly.

Solution:

1. Go to J2Commerce → Setup→ Shipping Methods.
2. Ensure the Free Shipping plugin is published.
3. Edit the Free Shipping plugin and check Require Valid Coupon.
4. Set Minimum Order Amount if needed.
5. Save the plugin settings.

Coupon Code Input Shows Error

Cause: Invalid coupon format or already applied.

Solution:

1. Coupon codes are case-insensitive.
2. Check if the coupon is already applied to the cart.
3. Verify the code matches exactly — no extra spaces.
4. Clear the cart and try again.

Coupon Restricted to Products Not Working

Cause: Products not properly associated or save required.

Solution:

1. Edit the coupon.
2. In the Products field, select the products.
3. Important: Click Save after selecting products before leaving the page.
4. The note in the interface reminds you: "If you add or delete product(s), you must click the save button before leaving."